[SET]
name: 3 Attacks
move 1: Sunsteel Strike
move 2: Psychic Fangs
move 3: Flare Blitz / Crunch
move 4: Morning Sun / Toxic
item: Metagrossite
ability: Full Metal Body
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Solgaleo is a sturdy tank that checks multiple Pokemon throughout the game, such as Tapu Lele, Dragonite and Eternatus whilst forcing out a large portion of the metagame with its high power STABs. Its ability to stay healthy throughout the game or tack on additional damage to its checks with Toxic make it a splashable offensive Pokemon without the problems of passivity that other Steel-types often have. Psychic Fangs is used to 2HKO Eternatus and deal significant damage to Ho-Oh. Flare Blitz hits Steel types like Corviknight, Kartana other Solgaleo and Magearna, whilst Crunch is capable of dealing significant damage to Slowbro, Solgaleo and Lunala at the cost of forgoing coverage for Corviknight. Toxic is capable of punishing most of Solgaleo's checks, such as Ho-Oh, Zapdos and Lunala. Wild Charge can be used as coverage to hit Ho-Oh and Pinsirite Entei harder whilst also hitting Slowbro & Corviknight in fewer moveslots, but also tacks on recoil to sets lacking Morning Sun. A Jolly nature is utilized to outspeed threats such as Lucarionite Terrakion and Eternatus, however, an Adamant nature can be used if checking these Pokemon is less of a priority. Do note that running an Adamant Solgaleo leaves you open to being revenge killed from other Jolly Solgaleo.
Solgaleo has a strong weakness to pivots that are capable of resisting its two STAB moves like Slowbro and Corviknight, and cannot cover all of them in one moveslot. Thus, running teammates that are either capable of further pressuring these Pokemon or are capable of outright forcing them out, like Regieleki and Zeraora, are key to using Solgaleo. Ho-Oh helps tackle some Ground types, such as Landorus-Therian and Hippowdon, whilst also beating the Ghosts Solgaleo has trouble with. Landorus-Therian itself can also help pressure Lunala for Solgaleo, and also helps beat most Ground types. Rhyperior can also help Solgaleo with tackling some Fire-types like Entei and Ho-Oh, and Toxic variants of Solgaleo can help force damage on Lunala for Rhyperior. These two Pokemon are also capable of reliably setting Stealth Rock, making Solgaleo far more difficult to blanket check, as Pokemon like Lunala, Entei and Zapdos are often severely weakened by Stealth Rock being present.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Aerodactylite can be utilized on Solgaleo to bolster its Attack stat even more, however, this set often struggles with its awkward Speed tier, especially if an Adamant nature is opted into, as Solgaleo will speed tie with Lucarionite Zygarde, and will be outsped by Pinsirite Entei. This set can also use Wild Charge as its fourth move, however this is often inferior to Toxic in most situations and makes Solgaleo more vulnerable to bulky Ground-types like Swampert and Hippowdon. Manectite and Venusaurite Solgaleo can utilize a defensive Calm Mind set, however, these sets are easily forced out by Lunala and lack the initial power that Metagrossite Solgaleo's 3 Attacks set does. Teleport can be used on Manectite and Venusaurite Solgaleo to make them function as a pivot, however, these sets have significant competition with Slowbro.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Landorus-Therian, Zygarde, Garchomp and Swampert are all capable of taking a hit from Solgaleo and can 2HKO back at the very least, forcing Solgaleo out. Whilst Rhyperior is beaten by Solgaleo, its Sandstorm also cuts Morning Sun recovery in half, making it very difficult to recover back lost HP from battling with a Rhyperior.
**Slowbro**: Sablenite Slowbro is incapable of being 2HKO'd from Solgaleo without prior chip damage, and can force Scald burns onto Solgaleo, or Teleport out into a strong offensive threat, such as Entei or Spectrier.
**Corviknight**: Venusaurite Corviknight is incapable of being 2HKO'd by any Solgaleo that does not run Wild Charge, and can either Bulk Up or pivot out using U-turn. Sablenite Corviknight is also capable of pivoting into both of Solgaleo's STABs and can pivot into a harder hitter in a pinch.
**Spectrier and Lunala**: Spectrier and Lunala are capable of taking a hit from Solgaleo and can force heavy damage onto Solgaleo, in some cases OHKOing it. Lunala is especially worrying as without Toxic or Crunch, Solgaleo has no lasting punish against it and can be set-up fodder.
**Fire-types**: Ho-Oh and Entei are capable of pivoting into Solgaleo and can force it out with Sacred Fire, potentially forcing a burn onto it. Victini can also offensively check Solgaleo and deal serious damage to its team with V-create.
**Other defensive walls**: Sablenite Zapdos and Mew are bulky enough to take avoid a 2HKO from any of Solgaleo’s moves and are incapable of being inflicted by Toxic through Solgaleo.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Chazm, 376369]]
- Quality checked by: [[Redflix, 499468], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
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